Opinion

Untitled Document Dwindling supplies of foreign oil, rising prices at the gas pump, and hype from politically connected U.S. agribusiness have combined to create a frenzied rush to convert food grains into ethanol fuel. The move is badly conceived and ill advised. Corporate spin and pork-barrel legislation aside, here, by the numbers, are the scientific […]

Untitled Document There was a time, not so long ago, when adjustable-rate mortgages were just as unusual and as mysterious as cell phones and state-sponsored lotteries. The notion that an interest rate could change during the life of a mortgage loan seemed, well, unconventional and fraught with risk — for the borrower. But in 1981, when […]

Untitled Document Once upon a time, in a distant land called Iowa, the media anointed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama crown prince of all the realm — well, at least, of all the Democrats. But half-a-week later, when the New Hampshire primary proved them wrong, they found another story to tell, something more along the lines […]

Untitled Document Something funny happened at City Council last week. OK, that’s hardly news. Something funny always happens at City Council. This time, however, was unusual, because it involves us — your friendly, locally owned newspaper: A city official was ordered to read Illinois Times. As you probably know, we’re a free-circulation newspaper, with no home delivery […]

Untitled Document More than 100 good neighbors attended a Cool Town Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 4, at the home of another good neighbor, First Presbyterian Church. Along with Saturday’s rally outside the federal building, the meeting was Springfield’s response to the national “Step It Up 2007: National Day of Climate Action” effort. In addition to […]

Untitled Document In April 1857, the Logan County Courthouse burned to the ground and court officials temporarily arranged to hold court in nearby Lincoln Christian Church. That fact is not in dispute. In the 1850s, Abraham Lincoln was a respected Springfield lawyer, trying cases all over the state, including in his namesake town, about 30 […]

Untitled Document I’ve had a lot on my mind lately but not a lot of time to sort things out. That’s just the way things are. Compared with many, I don’t have much to complain about. We have plenty of people whose lives here are much worse — they’re sick, they’re poor, they’re alone. Not […]

Untitled Document One last shot at the Great American Novel, and I need help. I’m taking an online writing course from a university. It’s a simple agenda: Students are given a writing task, after which we write, we submit, and edits and advice are returned. It’s not going well. “Fritz” continually tries to broker my […]

Untitled Document It’s Tour de France time, but we’re not interested here, because no Americans are in the hunt — but I’m looking for a new sport to watch, because football, baseball, and basketball no longer fill up all my free time. Last Tuesday I came dangerously close to reading a book. I dismissed NASCAR […]

Untitled Document As a young reporter, Lincoln Steffens learned that successful police officers had a somewhat ambiguous relationship to the law. Here’s how it worked in some New York City precincts in the late 19th century: Criminal syndicates did a thriving business in age-old vices (gambling, prostitution, thievery) and the police protected them, as long […]

Untitled Document He hadn’t always been handsome — indeed, until the age of 15 he was average-looking — but then Tony “Mole” McMurphy set him straight. Mole was called “Mole” because he looked like a mole, and yet the girls hung on him like ornaments on a Christmas tree. “How is that?” asked the average-looking […]